Hawks vs. Bucks Game 2 and series betting odds

After winning the first Conference Finals game in the history of Atlanta basketball, the Hawks are soaring high. There have been many “firsts” during this playoff run, including Sunday’s win over the 76ers, which was the franchise’s first win in a Game 7 on the road since moving to Atlanta. Trae Young scored the third-most points in a Conference Finals game in NBA history. Young also added 11 assists to his 48 points in Game 1, which has also never happened before. Ice Trae scored or assisted on 72 of the Hawks’ 116 points, accounting for 62% of the team’s offense — a Conference Finals record, per Elias Sports. It’s the most points ever in a player’s first Conference Finals game, and Young became the first player ever to have 45+ points and 10+ assists in a Conference Finals.

The Hawks have been betting underdogs entering every playoff series this postseason. The Knicks were slight favorites and were sent packing in only five games. The 76ers were massive favorites (-215) at the start of the series, but those odds moved to -770 after the Sixers took Game 2 and Game 3. Of course, the Hawks would go on to take Games 5 and 7 in Philadelphia.

Now, it’s happened again. Before Game 1, the Bucks were massive favorites set at -460 to win the series. Before Game 1, Fanduel had the exact series prediction odds as Bucks in five (+220), Bucks in six (+400), Bucks in seven (+410), Bucks in four (+460), and the most likely outcome in a Hawks series win was in six (+900). Just disrespectful… a gentleman’s sweep? Now, the odds have shifted.

Milwaukee is only -196 favorites to take the series at this point, and the most likely outcome is Bucks in seven (+260). Oddsmakers are beginning to come around regarding this Atlanta Hawks team, but they still aren’t quite there yet. The Hawks are eight-point underdogs, yet again, in Game 2 on Friday. Fanduel has the exact outcome as Bucks in six (+320), Bucks in five (+430), and Hawks in six (+500).

Once again, this young Hawks team is being overlooked. Be sure to constantly check back here at SportsTalkATL, as I’ll update the betting odds for each game and the entire series between the Hawks and Bucks.